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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. hand — help
  3. rock — music
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. craft — a skill
  7. race — humankind
  8. rock — a stone
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. race — the arms race
  12. branch — a division
  13. pound — a weight
  14. club — a group
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. craft — boats
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — for golf
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. race — a contest
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. branch — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com